The use of electronic workstations, for example computer workstations, by people of all interests is rapidly proliferating. Where once such workstations were used primarily by people whose responsibilities were essentially limited to dedicated word-processing or data-processing, the current trend is for use of workstations on an intermittent basis by a wide spectrum of people in offices, businesses, schools, and homes for many different purposes.
Existing workstations tend to be rather large, bulky pieces of equipment which occupy substantially all of an operator's usable work surface. As more diverse types of people use electronic workstations, there is an urgent need for a workstation having a minimum profile relative to the operator's work surface, to permit the operator to use the work surface for activities other than operating the workstation.
For example, a professional person, such as a doctor, attorney, stock broker, banker, insurance executive, or patent examiner, may use a workstation for only 10% of his business day and otherwise require a spacious, orderly work surface for reviewing and storing paper documents, files, and other work-related items.
Ergonomic studies have also shown that electronic workstation operators are susceptible to fatigue in their eyes, arms, shoulders, and back, and to other maladies, particularly if the workstation can only be oriented in a single position. Accordingly, there is also a need to provide workstations in which the keyboard and video display unit (VDU) can be easily adjusted by the operator to a variety of positions.
It is known to provide an electronic workstation which has a keyboard that may be positioned beneath the base of the workstation by the operator to minimize the workstation profile when the operator is not using the workstation. However in such position the keyboard is not accessible for use by the operator. Workstations in which the keyboard may be positioned on top of the base and beneath the VDU are also known. However, regarding the latter workstations, they are either of a type in which the clearance between the base and VDU only allows for storage of the keyboard without allowing operator access to any keys, or of the type in which access to the keyboard by the operator is severely limited.